Current status

Detailed Description

Many older phones support mobile broadband sharing to computers through Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking (DUN). When the phone is paired with a computer, the computer may request that the phone provide a virtual serial port, and then the computer treats that virtual serial port as a normal mobile broadband connection card, sending AT commands and starting PPP.

Enhanced functionality in the gnome-bluetooth plugin allows users to set up their network connection with a few clicks, after which the phone and the network connection are available from the nm-applet menu.

Benefit to Fedora

This feature is often requested by users and other 3rd-party tools have been developed to fill some of this need. However, these tools are not fully integrated into the user experience and require additional effort. This new NetworkManager feature provides simple Bluetooth DUN networking functionality with a few simple clicks and allows users easy networking on-the-go.

Scope

The low-level connectivity functionality in ModemManager and NetworkManager is already present and waiting to be merged into NetworkManager 0.8.1. The user interface bits (namely the gnome-bluetooth plugin) are already finished. Additional (but not necessary) functionality would be the ability to remove Bluetooth connections from nm-connection-editor instead of using the Bluetooth applet to do the same thing; but this is not necessary for the feature.

How To Test

Make sure you have NetworkManager-gnome and ModemManager installed.

Using a computer with a Bluetooth adapter and a mobile phone that supports Bluetooth DUN, pair the phone with the computer, and at the end of the pairing process you'll see a screen with checkbox that says "[ ] Access the Internet using your mobile phone". When you check that box, a progress indicator will appear and say "Detecting phone configuration" and a short helper Wizard will appear to help you select your mobile operator and plan. After the wizard is complete, you should be able to see your phone in the nm-applet menu and select your mobile provider to start the connection.

User Experience

See the "How to test" section for details on the user experience.

Dependencies

All dependencies are currently available in Fedora (namely gnome-bluetooth, NetworkManager, and ModemManager).

Contingency Plan

The feature is already complete. Icing on the cake would be allowing users to add/delete connections from nm-connection-editor, but that is not necessary for full functional use of this feature.